Transcript from May 24 Lost chat

Our chat this week brought Lost blogger Therese Odell questions on everything from Patchy’s eye to dead people from the future. Thanks to everyone who joined us and remember to leave other questions and theories you may have in the comments.

Therese_Odell: Good morning, everyone! What an amazing episode, no? Unlike some of you clever folks, I didn’t see the flash forward coming–call me gullible. It was a risky move to give us a glimpse of the future, but I, personally, loved it. What did you think? Think it worked? Was there enough suspense to keep you guessing until season 4? Are you sad about Charlie’s death? Do you think he’s really dead (for the record, I’m pretty sure he is…)? And what about big ol’ teenaged Walt? Let’s chat!

2short__Guest_: I enjoyed the season finale and I am definitely going to miss the show until it returns in February, but I thought there were a couple of gaping holes in the story last night.First, why did Charlie lock himself inside the room to drown? He had time to close the door and lock Desmond out so I think he had time to get out and still close the door. Even if he didn???t and the station began to flood, they had scuba equipment to swim to the surface. And even if they scuba equipment did not work, it should have been easier to swim to the surface than swim down to the station. This frustrated me. Second, when Ben was threatening Jack with Sayid, Jin, and Bernard???s deaths, why didn???t Jack inform Tom it would be a three for three swap if he killed the Losties since they had Ben, Alex, and Alex???s boyfriend? That surely would have given Tom pause. Great blog???how do you find time to do this and all those other shows as well and have an actual life?

Therese_Odell: Hey 2short: Well, I know that a lot of people are frustrated with Charlie’s death and think it was unnecessary, but I think k got it right in the comments in the blog: Charlie knew he had to shut the door to prevent Desmond from rushing in to see Penny, and die needlessly as well. It was a big heroic move on Charlie’s part: he saw everything clearly, as opposed to Jack who had one minute to make a decision and didn’t see the bigger picture, so concerned and upset he was at being responsible for Bernard, Sayid and Jin’s deaths…

Therese_Odell: As far as my having a life outside of all this…that’s debatable.

LostShelley__Guest_: I guess Sawyer’s issues aren’t really over either. What do you think about Sawyer shooting Tom?

Therese_Odell: Oh, LostShelley, I’m very upset about it. For starters, I loved Tom. But then there’s the fear that Sawyer has turned bad now that he’s killed Cooper. I don’t know that this is the case, and I believe that he will find redemption in being a father, especially since he spurned his daughter Clementine.

LostShelley__Guest_: Flash Forward? Golden Pass? Who’s dang funeral that no one went to but our down and out in Beverly Hills Jack?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know who’s funeral that was, but I think it is KEY.

LostShelley__Guest_: Who is Naomi with if not with Penny? and do you think that Penny will be able to find the island now that Charlie had contact with her?

Therese_Odell: Well, I don’t know who Naomi was with, but I am inclined to believe that Ben may have been telling a partial truth in that whoever it is, they’re bad. Of course, not everyone did die, as he suggested would happen if Jack made contact, so I don’t know what to believe. But we have many contender for who this party could be: Mittelwerk, Widmore, Paik even. Or some other group we know nothing about yet.

Therese_Odell: As far as Penny is concerned, yes–I do think this may have been the opportunity that she needed to find the island.

Therese_Odell: And I should add that I think Penny will be the one that saves them…not Naomi’s team. Perhaps, Penny even saves htem all from Naomi’s team. Dunno.

G-82126199__Guest_: Do you think John seeing Walt means Walt is dead?

Therese_Odell: No, I don’t: after all, Shannon saw Walt when he was alive. I think the island had a connection to him somehow…

Vickie__Guest_: Wow! Last night was a big surprise! A few things I notice, on the Lost Answers special, Lindlof and Cuse said that Lost expressed Past, Present and Future. With that in mind, and the comparison by someone last week with a Christmas Carol, I have to ask, was that a look at things that will be or things that may be? I hope it is not the way things wll be, as it is depressing to think that Jack could sink that bad.

Therese_Odell: I don’t think so. I think it was just an indication of Jack’s desperate situation. He’s drugged out, and lost touch with reality and time…

Oxypowder__Guest_: If that wasn’t Penny’s boat, then are the ‘Losties’ & ‘the other’s’ about to be attacked by some third party? AND if they are, do you think that they will join forces? Ben & Jack being leaders?

Therese_Odell: Yes, and yes. I think that this season was a means of humanizing the Others so that we could prepare to go to war against yet another, unknown force, and

we are about to see who that force is. AS far as Ben and Jack working together…I dunno, but I do think the Other will join forces with the survivors.

kdcoughlen: I think everyone must be incredibly anxious to discuss last night’s show. I loved the twist of having a flash forward – if that is what it was. So who do you think was in the coffin???

Therese_Odell: My best guess for a number of reasons is Locke. But! There is a strong possibility that it is someone we don’t know yet.

Adam__Guest_: 13 dead in one episode, Alex turned over to the Losties, and Ben tied up (not that anyone trusts him in his group anyways). Is this the end for the Others?

Therese_Odell: The end of them? or just a new alliance? It certainly might be the end of the Others as “others,” but we are about to be introduced to new “Others,” I suspect. (If that makes a lick of sense.)

WhitDC__Guest_: Hi T! Fee-nominal epi! Sayid killed a guy with his FEET! So who do we think is on the boat? Penny’s people? Naomi never met Penny, her story could still be legit. Dharma, come to reclaim the Island? A player to be named later?

Therese_Odell: SAYID! AND THE FEETS! Awwwwwwwwwwwesome.

Therese_Odell: I think the folks on the boat will probably be affiliated with someone we’ve heard of before, but not DHARMA. As to who? *shrug*

J__Guest_: I think that the dead person that Jack visited was Sawyer. This would be too obvious, so maybe it???s someone else.

Therese_Odell: Perhaps, J. It has to be someone with no family, and someone that Jack doesn’t consider a friend…so, I don’t know. Unless Sawyer does something HEINOUS in the next three seasons, I’m unsure why no one from the island would show up. Of course, that’s true for all our survivors, so maybe it’s not anyone we know yet.

Therese_Odell: Unless it’s Ben.

Texan1214: Morning! I cried when I saw poor Charlie die. I know it was supposed to happen, but it still made me sad. I didn’t see the flash forward coming either, I think Kate is with Sawyer in the future. I still don’t know what to think about what’s going to happen.

Therese_Odell: Me too, Texan1214. Cried, and felt silly for doing so, since half the season Desmond’s been telling us he was going to die. Still, so sad…when he crossed himself…ugh. So. Sad.

Therese_Odell: I also think Kate’s with Sawyer in the future. Of course, I implore you all to not hold me to that.

cici444__Guest_: I’m intrigued by who it was that died and why it would send Jack to the point he feels he can no longer go on…any thoughts?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know for sure, cici444. But I think it is absolutely the most important unanswered question of the episode, and something I hope to get into in depth in the blog. If it is someone we know, I’m sticking with Locke, and I hope to explain why in the entry. However, as I’ve said, very well could be someone we haven’t yet met…

Therese_Odell: Who knows. Maybe it was Vincent.

amelia__Guest_: So did Walt come back from the future to warn John about using the satellite phone and Naomi?

Therese_Odell: That’s a possibility. I think that it was the Island or Jacob manifesting as Walt, but you could be right–after all, Walt was much older than he was when he left the island, and the director filmed him at an angle that emphasized his size…so perhaps!

VirginiaCreeper__Guest_: Some people are saying Jack’s razor phone gave it away.

anthony_in_austin__Guest_: Who was listed in the obit? I slo-moed it and could’t read the name..

Therese_Odell: They did an excellent job of preventing us from being able to read the obit..

WhitDC__Guest_: Could Ben also have prescient abilities? Asking Locke to kill his father was a test – Ben knew Locke would have to kill to save the Island, and he wanted him ready.

Therese_Odell: I definitely think that Ben is special in the same ways that some of the other survivors are. The question though is did Ben see that many steps ahead? I don’t know that Ben did, but someone else might have…meaning, someone was preparing Locke for being able to kill Naomi, but who? As far as Locke killing Cooper, I’m pretty sure Ben never believed Locke could do it, and deliberately was trying to humiliate him. But Alpert may have known more about Locke’s purpose…

Hornswin__Guest_: I think the dead person in the future is Sawyer. Jack was sad because it reminded him of the island, and then he told the funeral director he was neither friend or family…. He also thought Kate would have been there…thoughts?

Therese_Odell: I think Sawyer is an obvious choice: no family or friends, but I don’t know that Sawyer’s death would make Jack contemplate suicide.

VirginiaCreeper__Guest_: I think Charlie’s dead. It was too emotional for it to be undone.

Therese_Odell: Agreed.

kdcoughlen: I’m thinkng they are in a time loop, aka groundhog day or stevenking’s gunslinger series. Until Jack gets it right they keep repeating events. Some people have no recollection of past loops, but some have limited memorites. Walt, Desmond, and locke

Therese_Odell: Very interesting theory, kdcoughlen!

cr__Guest_: Charlie seemingly is a goner, but if the flas we had of Jack could he possibly go back and change the events that transpired in last nights episode. Des needs to get to the rest of the castaways to tell them about the ship not being Penny’s…maybe to change the rescue efforts.

Therese_Odell: Hmmm…interesting. So where’s Walt? And Michael was from New York, so why is he in L.A.?

J__Guest_: Why was Charlie preventing Desmond from seeing Penny?

Therese_Odell: Because he knew that Desmond would be so desperate to communicate with Penny, that he’d drown too if he were to come into the office. Remember, he calls Des at first to see Penny, but then Mikhail shows up with the grenade, and Charlie understands that Desmond can not come to the office to see Penny, too, or he’d drown as well.

JDM1021__Guest_: I’m not sure about teenage Walt, it’s just like Harry Potter growing up, can’t stop those hormones! I’m sad Charlie is dead, but it was bound to happen. Not sure if Mikhail is dead, that’s the real question.

Therese_Odell: Heck, maybe it was Mikhail’s coffin in the funeral parlor.

Sortsa__Guest_: Just a quick observastion, was it just me or did it appear that Jack’s beard made him look like a shepard?

Therese_Odell: Yes, it did, Sortsa!

ROB281__Guest_: since it was a flash forward why was Kate not in jail or on the run?

Therese_Odell: Excellent question ROB281!

Therese_Odell: I really don’t know!

a__Guest_: Did anyone ever comment on the fact that Naomi told Charlie they had released a greatest hits album after his death even though they had only been gone for 60 or 70 days when she showed up. That kind of ties into the episode last night?

Therese_Odell: Interesting point, a! They’d been missing for roughly 90 days at this point, so it does seem rather soon to be putting something like that out. Of course, now we have to question everything Naomi said, including the bit about finding 815 at the bottom of the ocean, since she isn’t who she claimed to be…

lost346__Guest_: how are they going to have 3 more seasons with that kind of ending?

Therese_Odell: Unless the future can be changed…

VirginiaCreeper__Guest_: Do you think the show will now take place in present day as opposed to 2004?

Therese_Odell: No, I think this was a one or two-time kinda thing…

Curtis__Guest_: I really hope Desmond figures out Charlie’s message

Therese_Odell: He seemed to understand it. OF course, they’re now going to drag out who the boat folks are, and getting Ben to explain what he knows…

solost__Guest_: The funeral would have had to have been someone that Kate doesn’t like because she seemed shocked that Jack even asked her if she went.

Therese_Odell: This is true. But who?

Franci__Guest_: Jack kept referring to his father in the p

resent tense during his flash forward…I wonder if when they got off the island they went back in time as well? Also I think that by utilizing Naomi’s people to get off the island we will find out that it didn’t turn out well for them (which is why Jack was so miserable)…Ben was right about her!

Therese_Odell: I think the writers were playing games with us by referring to Christian in the present tense. I suspect he’s really dead.

Therese_Odell: But, yeah! Ben was right about Naomi! But how right? How much can we trust the little liar?

cici444__Guest_: The question is also out there as to who the “bad people” are on the boat offshore. Could it be the ones who originally set-up the Dharma project and want to come back to seek revenge for the massacre that was partly carried out by Ben? Maybe Penny’s father is involved???

Therese_Odell: cici444: I don’t know that it’s DHARMA, seeking revenge, but I do think that it might be some group who wants the island and its “properties” (whatever they are) for their own purposes (whatever they may be). But who knows?

cr__Guest_: The funeral had to be an unknown character or possibly Juliet because he is clearly shaken by the event…enough to end his own life. I believe he wants to get back to the island because he realizes he is at fault for all the things to come after the fact…just like he caused the accident on the bridge and became a hero then as well as getting all the losties off the island.

JDM1021__Guest_: I noticed it was easy for Locke to kill Naomi, but not his dad or Jack. That bothered me a little. Do you think that Locke will be shunned by the castaways now?

Therese_Odell: No, I don’t. I think Locke will be proven right to kill Naomi in the long run, and as cr said above, that this is why Jack is such a miserable sot in the present.

Will__Guest_: Mikhail asked Bonnie and Greta about their trip to Canada. Did you catch all of that?

Therese_Odell: Yep–he said that he thought they were on assignment in Canada. Of course, Ethan claimed to be from Toronto in season one. I wonder if the references to Canada is a play on Americans who pose as Canadians when abroad to not be considered “American,” and all that connotes.

Curtis__Guest_: I think Jacob manafested himself as Walt

papiswife: what is your theory behind jack’s desperate need to get back to the island?

Therese_Odell: Saving it for the blog, papiswife!

TruxTrux__Guest_: I don’t doubt that what we saw will pass. My biggest curiosity is who was in that coffin. My bet is Ben. “Friend or family?”, “Neither”

Cory_Heikkila: Thanks for coming, everyone. Get your questions in before 11 a.m. and we’ll keep going until we get them answered. If you missed the first part of the chat, check back after it’s all over for a transcript at blogs.chron.com/tubular/archives/lost.

Oxypowder__Guest_: Do you think Danielle and Alex meeting will play any significance for future episodes? Especially since Danielle said she does’nt want to leave the island if they are actually rescued.

Therese_Odell: Yes, well, Alex is, after all, a native of the island in the truest sense. It’ll be interesting to see if they stay, or if anyone stays. They may all be forced off the island, and thus the “death” that Ben speaks of–not a literal one, but a figurative one…if that makes sense.

lachlan__Guest_: Do you think it is possible that in Jack’s flash forward Kate is with Ben, and Sawyer is in the coffin? – That would be unexpected. With Sawyer’s personality hardening – what he did to Tom was cold-blooded murder compared with what Tom did not do to Sayid, Jin & Bernard even though they had killed his people. Maybe Kate does not go back with him after that. Instead she ends up hooking up with Ben, who was trying to save them all along – and that is what sends Jack into depression?

Therese_Odell: Interesting theory, lachlan!

solost__Guest_: it was odd to see Walt again, since he has aged in real time much more so than the other cast memebers. Do you think this is affecting his appearence on the show?

Therese_Odell: I think this is one fo the reasons why they wrote him off the show in hte first place…he, more than anyone, would demonstrate “real time” instead of narrative time…

sa__Guest_: Do do you think is left on the island after jack and kate makes it to the inland? who is he trying to save or for what?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know. I think there are plenty of people who would stay on the island: Ben, Danielle, Locke, even Rose. But maybe they weren’t permitted to stay…

VirginiaCreeper__Guest_: Was there a Dharma logo on the coffin?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know, VC! I’ll have to take a closer look. Anyone see that?

aggiemom__Guest_: That was the best episode of the season!!!! Hurley is the HERO!!!

Therese_Odell: Glad you brought up Hurley, aggi

emom! Wasn’t that terrific?

robbs__Guest_: Is anyone else disapointed in the Jack of the futures? i felt like we were let down because of that.

Therese_Odell: I hope to address this later, robbs!

Nerwal__Guest_: Do you think Michael is alive? With Walt? On the island? Was Walt a ‘black horse’ or was he really there?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know that he was really there at all, Nerwal. My personal belief is that he was a manifestation of Jacob.

Robert__Guest_: The consensus in my group is that the funeral was for Ben. Most likely not to have visitors or people who cared. What do you think?

Therese_Odell: I think it’s a toss-up between Ben and Locke if it’s someone we know.

cr__Guest_: If time exist all at once then all the flashes aren’t past or future….maybe thay haven’t been flashes at all..just events happening all at once,,,every decision you make changes all time….not just the future…it could be tht Jack and Kate change enough that they do know each other all along..possible?

Therese_Odell: Another interesting thought, cr. (You wouldn’t happen to have another nickname I might know you by, do you?) That’s a truly mind-bending thought. Ouch!

JDM1021__Guest_: In the future flash, Kate told Jack she had to go and get back before he noticed she was gone.. who is this man she’s with? Is it Sawyer?

Therese_Odell: That’s my thought, JDM. BUt maybe that’s too obvious?

Nerwal__Guest_: My theory is that the show will continue to flashforward characters in addition to the flashbacks (no ‘and this is how their life went’ at the end) for the rest of the show… I also think Sawyer has gone off his rocker

Therese_Odell: Hmm! Maybe! But I worry that it’s a dangerous direction in which to go for the writers…not that I would complain. I thought last night’s revelations were AMAZING.

Oxypowder__Guest_: Do you think that Locke will eventually take over Ben’s leader position, and if so, what will that mean for Locke & Jack? They won’t be able to work together.

Therese_Odell: Well, unless everyone on the island need to band together to defend themselves against whatever is coming to the island…

Phil__Guest_: The Locke comeback was pretty dissappointing. He comes back, and can’t even convince Jack not to make the call? Then sulks off?

Therese_Odell: Jack didn’t know that he had been shot. Why would Jack trust him? All he knows is that Locke’s gone over to the Others, and here he is saying the same things that Ben is: “don’t make the call! It’s a mistake!” So why would he believe him?

Oxypowder__Guest_: If that was a flash forward, then why does Jack & Kate seem to not like each other? something must happen in the next three seasons that drive those two apart.

Therese_Odell: Maybe. I certainly think something significant happens in this series of events–and I suspect Kate blames Jack for this… as does Jack, thus the drug habit and desperation. Not only does Kate not like Jack, Jack doesn’t like Jack, either.

robbs__Guest_: If that “flashforward” just occured how many of the other flashbacks throughout the season’s could have possibly been flashforwards rather than flashbacks?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know that any of them have been, honestly. Do you think there are any candidates?

Joe__Guest_: If you have never watched lost should you start now?

Therese_Odell: Absolutely! If you get a hold of the first two seasons on DVD and watch them over the break, you’ll be hooked. There’s a lot of time to fill before season 4 starts!

trippy__Guest_: What do you think about “future” Jack telling Kate that he didn’t want to lie anymore? Too many things struck me as odd – Jack’s references to his dad, Kate not in prison . . . could it be that some type of bargain was struck to return that has become too much for Jack to bear?

Oxypowder__Guest_: Do you think that the person in the casket could be Michael? Since the funeral home seemed to be in a black neighborhood. Also, have you been able to locate a screenshot of the newspaper clipping? I’ve read in other forums that it said something about “Man killed in Loft”

Therese_Odell: I don’t think it was Michael. If only based on the little you can see here:

shadesofpink__Guest_: Here’s my theory, for what it’s worth: I think the remaining seasons will consist of the flash-forwards, and we will see how terrible the survivo

r’s lives are off the island. And while lately we’ve been saying, “Get off the island!” we’ll soon see what’s in store for them and want them to stay on the island. I also think the very last scene in the very last episode will be them finally getting rescued, and we’ll already know what’s going to happen because of the flash-forwards. What do you think?

Therese_Odell: Great thoughts, shades! I don’t think they’ll do the flash forward thing too much, frankly, because it limits their ability to create narrative surprises. After all, we now know that Kate and Jack don’t die on the island.

sa__Guest_: Do you think Sawyer has gone bad (cold blooded killing)? If so, he may not survive and maybe its not him with kate? Who is with Kate anyway?

Therese_Odell: Don’t write Sawyer off just yet! I think he might be the one person on this show who may be redeemed by becoming a father with Kate…

VirginiaCreeper__Guest_: I wonder why Jack is so messed up now, but not so much Kate. Maybe she’s trying to move on and put whatever happened in the past, but Jack’s so determind to go back.

Therese_Odell: Jack clearly holds himself responsible for something, but what?

WhitDC__Guest_: When Ben headed off to the radio tower, he told Richard to take the Others to the “temple” as planned. Is this another Dharma hatch, or a structure that pre-dates Dharma? Somehow related to the four-toed people?

Therese_Odell: I think you answered your own question, Whit.

lost346__Guest_: Why does Ben not want them to leave the island?

Therese_Odell: I think Ben planned on being the ruler of his own little tribe, but of course to be a leader you need followers, which he has in the Others. If the survivors were to contact the outside world, it may threaten his power, if the Others were to learn of some sort of truth he’s been hiding from them..

Phil__Guest_: I know Tom had shown signs of compassion in the past, but I found it very strange that all three of the attack group people were so eager to disobey Ben and let them live after they were almost blown up. Did I miss something there?

Therese_Odell: Well, Phil, that’s a good point. Ryan says somethingabout Ben “losing it,” but the survivors did just kill 7 of their folks, so what’s going on?

brent__Guest_: Do you think Penny is nearby? Why else would her video be the first communication to come through into the Looking Glass?

Therese_Odell: Let’s hope! Maybe she had information about a particular frequency on which to communicate. I don’t know! Thoughts?

Therese_Odell: Manifest asks:Why is it that people on the street recognized jack as the hero from the crash, but not as the guy who was rescued after the plane crash? Seems the writers went out of their way to say nobody knew about the rescue, but wouldn’t it have made big news? Jack even tells the new doc that he doesn’t know what Jack went through.

Therese_Odell: I don’t know, manifest! I think it’s an excellent question. Perhaps this all happens now, i.e. 2-3 years after they’ve been rescued, and in our ADD culture we’ve already forgotten about Jack adn the survivors? Plus, he’s got that beard as a disguise!

Oxypowder__Guest_: I’m glad that Charlie died, as well as Tom. I’m glad that Sawyer got his revenge from the first season. Now that he’s tasted blood, he wants more. Do you think that Sawyer has turned evil? If so, what team will he be on?

Therese_Odell: ACCK! Let’s hope not! I know a lot of people felt Sawyer had been emasculated, and I think this was a response. Never think that Sawyer’s turned soft–he might just surprise you.

anthony_in_austin__Guest_: I find Benry’s lines very humorous and always seemd matter of fact. “Alex this is your mother”…DO we think Benry and Rousseau actually hooked up to be Alex’s parents?

Therese_Odell: No, I think that Ben or the native Others abducted Alex when she was born. But who knows, right?

ROB281__Guest_: who’s to say they all got off the island though, maybe that’s why Jack wants to get back sooo bad

Therese_Odell: You’re right! I think there’s a strong possibility that some stay behind.

dd_lost__Guest_: We were cheering everytime an other was killed! I counted 13 + Charlie make 14 in one show. I have a feeling Charlie and Mikhail will return.

Therese_Odell: Oh, I think we’ll see Mikhail again. Charlie? Not so sure…unless he’s in some flashbacks.

Therese_Odell: or visions…

cr__Guest_: Seems to me that Kate chose Sawyer but may have been meeting Jack secretly…an affair? “Meet me at the usual spot”…she knew where to go but had to leave because “he” will be wondering where she was. The funeral almost had to be Ben, Locke, or an unknown.

Therese_Odell: I think Kate and Jack must share something. An affair is an intriguing possibility, but I wonder if it isn’t something we aren’t anticipating…like she knows somet

hing about him or something he did that no one else knows.

Texan1214: I also thought that it might be either Ben or Locke that Jack goes to see. I was kind of weirded out when Jack was telling Kate “we need to go back.” Just goes to show we have NO idea what’s going to happen in the next 2 seasons. What do you think?

Therese_Odell: Texan1214, I hope to get into what I think is going on with Jack in the blog…I honestly just don’t know and hesitate to take a stab in the dark…

davek__Guest_: if the Jack clips were from the future, why did he refer to his Dad in the present tense (in the hospital and pharmacy), like he was still alive? Was he just too drugged up or does it mean his dad is really not “dead” after all? Did he ever see a body in the casket? I don’t remember…

Therese_Odell: He doesn’t look in the casket. I think he refers to his father in the present because he’s so drugged up, but also because he’s living in the past..

jason__Guest_: So is it possible that the island has some sort of reverse healing effect when you leave? We’ve seen a lot about how everyone on the island heals faster, fights cancer etc, but in the flash forward at least one person was dead, jack was a mess and he kept saying that they had to go back. Makes me think there is an adverse effect when you leave, which would explain Ben saying that no one can leave, and that jack would kill them all

Therese_Odell: That or once you leave the island you no longer have the benefit of the healing effects of the island.

Adam__Guest_: By the way, here’s a screenshot of the newspaper clipping: http://www.lostpedia.com/images/d/d4/Newspaperclipping2.jpg Seems like the first name begins with Jo– and the last name ends with –antham. So do you think this is someone we haven’t seen yet?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know. It could be someone new, or it could be that someone we know changed their name after returnig to the real world.

Texan1214: I was so so excited to see Hurley FINALLY get to save the day! I felt so bad for him whenever everyone told him no, but it was for his own protection. Why do you think they kept Sayid, Jin, and Bernard alive?

Therese_Odell: I think the point of that was two-fold: 1. the Others aren’t as bad as we think they are, and 2. they are losing trust in Ben as a leader.

Joey__Guest_: i don’t think it was Locke. there is no way he ever leaves the island

Therese_Odell: Well, what if he doesn’t have much choice?

sa__Guest_: Why did Locke say to Jack that he is not supposed to make the call? Did Locke see future or did Jacod or someone else told him something?

Therese_Odell: I think Locke has experienced a transformation after his near-death experience,and now knows things. He’s tapped into something with the island or Jacob…

Nerwal__Guest_: Jacob = Jack? Thoughts? My husband tossed that one out… I don’t necessarily think so, but what do you think?

Therese_Odell: It’s something that has been mentioned by others, but I don’t think so…of course, they both seem to have scruffy beards…

cr__Guest_: Is it possible that the events have all happened and they are in a time loop until they get it all right? Could explain the flashes Des gets. Maybe Locke and Ben now have the same ability to see what has happened and that is why Ben and Locke told him he isn’t supposed to make contact…”future” Jack realizes they were right and has to get back to make the right choice….but needs Kate to be there too

Therese_Odell: Loop, dude. Loop.

aggiemom__Guest_: Who do you think was on the end of the line when Jack answered the satellite phone?

Therese_Odell: I think it was someone that the survivors will regret contacting.

JKM1__Guest_: An assumption was that Ben was partially correct – the phone contact brings about the extermination of all (almost), except Jack, Kate, Sawyer? and Ben. Ben being the one in the coffin (who would come). Jack feels the wieght of his wrong choice because of all those deaths, even Bens. Where does Penelope fit in however? And what does she just sit at a desk waiting to make contact?

tb__Guest_: If this was a flash forward, Jack feels they never should have left because his life has gone downhill. Yet Kate was driving a nice car and did not seem to be a fugitive any longer. Any thoughts on why her life improved after coming back but Jacks did not?

Therese_Odell: I don’t know…quite the reversal, no? Suddenly Jack is the one on the run, trying to escape his present, whereas Kate seems at peace with hers…

JDM1021__Guest_: So, Juliette is obviously with the Losties now since she didn’t prevent the Others on the beach from getting killed. Do you think her and Sawyer are gonna hook up?

Therese_Odell: No, I don’t think so. I think she won’t make it off the island, is my assumption. But I do think she will redeem herself somehow. And perhaps get it on with Jack.

Franci__Guest_: From what I’ve read by people that have studied the obit – it looks like it’s about a man who killed himself, but the pieces of the name that can be seen doesn’t sound like anyone we know of yet.

G-21334444__Guest_: Could there be other others?

Therese_Odell: Do you mean on the island or off, trying to get on? I think there are certainly natives running around (of an indeterminate number), and that whoever is on the boat will be our new “others.”

Oxypowder__Guest_: Did you notice how two women that Jack loved, both said “Goodbye Jack” to him during this episode. and that his exwife was pregnant. Why did they bring his ex-wife back?

Therese_Odell: I think you answered your own question. Jack is in love with two women who aren’t carrying his child.

G-21334444__Guest_: I was not seeing things… that was a flashforward for jack right?

Therese_Odell: Yes.

Oxypowder__Guest_: But would Lockes death make Jack contemplate suicide? LOcke and jack have a worse relationship than Sawyer and Jack.

Therese_Odell: I think you’ll have to wait for the blog for me to get into that more.

JDM1021__Guest_: Do you think that the group that is coming on next season is the group that put Alpert on the island in the first place?

Therese_Odell: Interesting possibility, I don’t know. But I think Alpert has been on the island for longer than that…

sam__Guest_: What about the ship? Is it Dharma coming back to reclaim the island?

WhitDC__Guest_: After the grenade blast, is Patchy dead-dead or still only mostly dead? That is one tough Russian. Killing Rasputin was easier.

Therese_Odell: He is so not dead.

Therese_Odell: Dude got a spear int he chest, and got up, strapped on some scuba gear, swam around to the porthole and blew up a hobbit. Not. Dead.

chris78__Guest_: I love the show because it shows the Leftist that a Utopian society does not work

G-82063535__Guest_: Why doesn’t Locke actually tell Jack about the ship instead of having him blindly obey his request. Locke reminds me of Benry in that respect…just do what I say and don’t ask why

Therese_Odell: I don’t know that Locke knows about the ship–he just may know somehow that communicating at this time is wrong, but not why it’s wrong. I think it’s too difficult at this point to discern Locke’s information or motives. Also, Jack’s not going to listen to him. He believes he’s in cahoots with Ben.

Cuatro004__Guest_: Any idea on why some people die, while others shrug off grave injury?

Therese_Odell: One of the big questions, Cuatro004. I wish I had a simple answer. I think that the island has healing properties of some sort, and that it goes hand-in-hand with why Alpert is the same age as he was when Ben met him. Don’t know.

JDM1021__Guest_: Good point Therese.. who all on the the island are from LA? Could give a clue as to who the person in the coffin is

Therese_Odell: Jack and Hurley are both from LA, as is Locke.

Therese_Odell: or the LA area.

Therese_Odell: Jack’s dad is dead, I’m pretty sure.

tb__Guest_: Sara is pregnant, who is the father? Is she with Jack’s dad?

Therese_Odell: Sorry.

J__Guest_: I???m wondering if Jack ever finds out that Claire is his half-sister. In the flash forward, it seems like he doesn???t have anyone or anything to live for.

Therese_Odell: Who knows what happens to Claire and the baby when they get on that helicopter that Des envisioned…

txalias2__Guest_: Seeing Jack go down hill the way we did reminded me of Christian, his dad. What do you think really drove him to relapse?

Therese_Odell: That’s the big mystery..I think he’s done something that was necessary, but also a huge sacrifice and he’s not coping.

Praidali__Guest_: Why Alex did not want to leave the island after sending out distress signals for 16 years?

Therese_Odell: It was Danielle, and I think she no longer has a home in the outside, having been there for 16 years.

txalias2__Guest_: Why didn’t Mikhail just set off the grenade where he was rather than swim outside (other than to give the writers a chance to save Des)?

Therese_Odell: I think he was trying to prevent the signal from going out, and needed the grenade to go off near the transceiver.

dillo0426__Guest_: I just assumed that the funeral was for Ben and that Ben was one of Jack’s only hopes to getting back on the island; therefore, when he dies Jack almost kills himself because he feels that a key person to getting back onto the island is now gone, thoughts?. Also was that Sun and Jin sitting behind Jack on the flight at the beginning of the episode?

Therese_Odell: I don’t think it was Sun and Jin. Will look again, though!

David__Guest_: It seemed that Charlie accepted his fate rather than trying to escape through the broken window. Maybe in order to deliver the warning. But I thought he could have fit out the opening.

J__Guest_: Why didn???t the island heal Mikhail???s eye?

Therese_Odell: ?

txalias2__Guest_: Why wasn’t Locke willing to sacrifice Jack when he was willing to sacrifice Sawyer, his dad, Cooper, and Boone? And does it have anything to do with getting shot?

Therese_Odell: He didn’t kill Boone or Cooper with his own hand. He would have had to shoot Jack, and I don’t think he could go through with it.

Oxypowder__Guest_: So why can’t mikhail die? First we have Locke throw him through some sort of ultra-sonic fence that caused him to have what looked like a brain hemmorhage. Then Desmond shoots him in the heart with a fishing spear. And now it appears that he blows himself up. How is Mikhail able to survive these events?

Therese_Odell: He’s a zombie.

CathyG__Guest_: maybe Kate has assumed some other Lostie’s identity

Therese_Odell: Good answer!

txalias2__Guest_: Kate drives a volvo? Clearly she’s a mommy in the flashforward…

Therese_Odell: AS a volvo mommymyself, I totally agree!

J__Guest_: What do you think fell in the ocean when Naomi parachuted to the island?

Therese_Odell: I think it was her copter, but for cost-cutting measures they didn’t show it

Alex__Guest_: Sorry if this is redundant ( I just joined in), but is it me or did this show just jump the shark? I mean, the show’s writers have kind of tied themselves to this future vision by leaving so many questions unanswered a la, who died, who-is-Kate-with. And does this mean that Jack’s dad is still alive? This show only gets more exasperating.

JDM1021__Guest_: I think that the show will show more future flashes as it goes along, but it will tie in to what is happening on the island. Maybe it’s Juliette in the coffin???

Therese_Odell: Hey guys! Some of these I’ve already answered. Be sure to read the transcript once we’re done here!

shadesofpink__Guest_: If the boat wasn’t Penny’s, how did Naomi get that picture of Penny and Desmond, and how did she even know who Penny was?

Therese_Odell: Widmore…

edidos__Guest_: Didn’t Desmonds vision say that Charlie drowns so Claire could get rescued? He could have easily closed the door behind him and escaped with Desmond. Maybe thats why he didn’t let Desmond in the room and just give me the heads up with the message on his hand.

J__Guest_: I don???t think that Ben is in the coffin. He has no reason to leave the island.

Therese_Odell: Unless he didn’t have a choice.

G-82091208__Guest_: Why do you think Penelope was suddenly calling if that wasn’t her boat?

Therese_Odell: Because she’s been looking, too. See: season two finale.

Oxypowder__Guest_: It can’t be Juliet’s funeral, because her sister would be there, right? Of course, with this show, who knows?

brent__Guest_: Not sure if this was mentioned or not but it seems the paper Jack had was from April 5, 2007 LA Times. Everyone believed the ending of the series would be some mass rescue from Island. My opinion is now that this rescue was actually the middle of the show. But Jack had to leave people behind – he promised to come back and rescue everyone else…. but has been unable to find the Island again. Makes the timeline of the Lost Experience acceptable now. He’s obsessed and it’s killing him.

Therese_Odell: Great thought, brent!

blah__Guest_: I think the casket i

s Michael. He was the only one who had the coordinates, given to him by Ben, to get off the island. Jack is despondent when he finds out because he knows that Michael is the only one that could have gotten him back to the island. The funeral home was in a black neighborhood, which also points to Michael. I would guess also that neither Kate nor Jack considers him a “friend” since he may have given the bad guys on the boat (Widmore) the coordinates to find the island initially.

J__Guest_: Now we understand why Ben went through so many extremes to prevent Alex and Karl from being together. Why did he kidnap Alex in the first place?

Therese_Odell: I think he believed he was saving her…

Will__Guest_: What does Jack mean when he says he’s going to get ALL his people off the island?

Joey__Guest_: interesting that Kate didn’t want to go back to the island…. while on the island she was always going back to help other people as pointed out in last nights episode

WhitDC__Guest_: After Jack makes the call to the boat, we see Locke just walk off from the group. Could he be heading to the submarine that he didn’t really blow up, so he can take out the freighter?

Therese_Odell: Well, hat would certainly be a twist!

anthony_in_austin__Guest_: I thought the coffin appeared really small, as maybe for a child…it didnt seem adult size

Therese_Odell: It did seem small, but I think it was supposed to be an adult. Where were the kid’s parents if it were a child?

biff__Guest_: I think Jack and Kate and maybe a few others we will find out have been rescued but others were left behind and this is what is making Jack so miserable. Maybe future episodes will deal with Jack trying to get back to the island and what the ones left behind will go through in the interim. Maybe we won’t see Jack and Kate with the left behinds until the end of the series. Could the coffin have been Claire? We know from Desmond’s visions that she will leave in a helicopter.

cr__Guest_: Jack is obsessed with getting back…all the maps in his apartment…pleading with Kate…he must know what he has to do to make it right. Kate didn’t seem interested..she seems to have it pretty good…looked great…someone waiting for her at home…..new car….why go back?

Oxypowder__Guest_: Kate is too hot to end up with Ben. No way.

Therese_Odell: Ha!

Alex__Guest_: It would make sense that Kate with be with Ben or someone else who could protect her from the law once they got home…remember, she is a fugitive!

Therese_Odell: How could Ben protect her from the law?

amelia__Guest_: Don’t forget about the runway. So who was the others going to have fly in or for what purpose?

Therese_Odell: Hmmm…good point!

roy__Guest_: Jack of the future is traumatized from what happens next? Dharma comes and kills a lot of people? Ben was right all along? Jack feels guilty (in the future) so what is there to be let down about?

matt__Guest_: Did anyone catch the name of the Funeral home? Anny hidden clues as to who might be in the casket?

Therese_Odell: The funeral home was Hoffs Drawlar — Flash Forward

Hornswin__Guest_: Juliette made a joke about “aliens coming” to Sawyer….however, I think that might actually be a clue about the island. I personally think that it is in an alternate dimension created by a wormhole of somekind and aliens are behind everything. In fact Jacob might be a alien manifesting himself to who he wishes. Thoughts?

Therese_Odell: There have been other alien references…Sawyer suggested last season that the Others were aliens…who knows? But I think it was a joke…

matt__Guest_: Have we seen the woman that Jack saved in the funale in a previous episode? At first I thought it might be Juliette’s sister, but then again I thought we were in a flashback at the time.

Therese_Odell: I’ll have to look at the woman again, and get back to ya!

Therese_Odell: AND THAT’S IT! Just in the nick of time, too. Turns out we had a two-hour chat after all, Vesta!

Therese_Odell: Thanks for all the amazing discussion and questions! Really! Y’all are incredibly insightful! Hopefully, the blog will be up sometime in the next 24 hours, but in the meantime, feel free to continue the discussion in the comments! Thanks again for stopping by and for making this such a successful chat!

47 Responses

Thank you so much for doing this Therese. The chats and blogs have been off the hook! As far as last nights epi, I hope that Charlie will somehow survive so that he can be with Claire and Aaron. I thought sacrificing himself for Desmond was ironic. Also, the last time Walt manifested, Shannon ended up dead, so maybe Locke is in the coffin. Lastly, Hurley is a hero too! Bless his heart, ya gotta love him. Lastly, would you let Mr. T know that I LOVE his thoughts on Lost. I must say they are very compact and funny! Thanks again T!

Christian is not alive. I think that the writers put that in there to make us think that Jack was flashing back not flashing forward. No one realizes that he’s flashing forward until he sees Kate. He meets Kate at dark and you can’t tell it’s her until she walks up on him.

He tells Kate to meet at the usual place. Why would they meet at the airport?

Also, Rousseau and Ben did not hook up. If you remember from season one, she says that she was pregnant when she got to the island.

I believe Jack’s flash forward was one *possible* future. I think that eventually they’re going to go back and do the “right thing”…whatever that is. Who knows, maybe by doing this “right thing” they can go back far enough to bring back Charlie and others who have perished on the island.

One other thing – someone on another blog pointed out that the funeral home name (which I don’t reacll at the moment) was an acronym for Flash Forward….clever….

One other note: I thought Ben told Locke (or someone) that after they killed the “real” Dharma folks, they had to keep up appearances (entering codes, etc…) to keep the mainland Dharma people from finding out that they had anhialated the “originals” so they would continue to get food drops and other benefits of the connections (files and info on the Oceanic passengers, live news feeds, etc…). That is who I think Naomi represents (the mainland Dharma folks) because Locke won that chess game when they first encountered Patch guy and then blew up that station. That is when the mainland Dharma folks realized all was not well on the island. From the chat, it seemed most felt there weren’t anymore Dharma people on the mainland. I may have missed something.

In season two one of the characters read Huxley’s ‘The Island.’ It didn’t click at the time, but if I remember it correctly, the book dealt with a man (losties) arriving on a special island where the inhabitants (the Others) enjoyed an Eden-like world. And of course in the end a third, outside group (freighter, Naomi’s group)invades the island and takes over. Has anyone else read the book?

Last comment…Didn’t Desmond already have a flash forward also? As I recall, when he started having his flash back episode, he flashed forward because he was back where he was with Penny and was asking what date it was and was shocked to find himself back “home” and was so upset when he was suddenly back on the island. I definitely will have to watch the DVDs of all 3 seasons again and see what all I can pick up that I missed or forgot.

If you look at the newspaper clipping again, you will see that the person in the coffin was originally from New York. It appears that he/she was found hanging from a beam in the loft? And there was a lot of noise in the loft that alerted the neighbors. Also, I agree with blah_guest that the funeral home was in an African-American section of LA, adult sized coffin, but even Sawyer could have ended up in that area. I don’t think it is Sawyer though.

As far as Danielle and Ben hooking up and being the parents of Alex, remember that Danielle was the one that captured Ben when he claimed to be Henry Gale. If they had been an item, I think she would have remembered him, rather than just referring to him as an “Other”. I think they stole Alex, like they did te other kids, and Ben took her as his own. For what reason, I don’t know.

I really like the idea that the rescue is in the middle of the season and that Jack promises to go back and rescue more people but then can’t. I think that in the rescue or after being rescued Jack is injured and starts taking the pain meds and gets addicted. I also think that maybe the “rescue” of the woman and her son in the car by Jack, is foreshadowing what the “losties” resuce will end up being like… Jack’s role in them both being the same.

Newal’s comment made me think….Remember the man in the pharmacy commented to the pharmacist that Jack was a hero twice over. Hmm…I wonder if during his first heroic event (whatever it might have been) he was injured and began with the pain meds. People generally don’t start taking pain medicine as a way of dealing with stress – he must have been injured to begin with.

Man, I’m going to miss this show for the next several months….I may need to join a support group. Thank God for the seasons 1 and 2 DVDs. Hopefully the season 3 set will be out before too long.

Once again thanks for the forum to express opinions…I keep seeing people comment about Sawyer turning evil…when was he a good guy? He’s just a bada$$ that sees the opportunity for a little payback and takes it. As far as the coffin..I thought the coffin looked a little small to be a grown person..could’ve just been the angle it was shot at. Mikhail must be like robo-other because the guy seems unstoppable..maybe he’s from the future…I can’t come up with any good theory on this guy. Richard seems to have insight on the way things are going to go down because he was really against Ben rushing the invasion..as if he knew what would happen. Ben obviously had no clue because he would’ve taken his crew to the radio tower instead of the beach to meet certain death. Richard may have recruited Ben to protect the island from intruders..willing to sacrifice him if need be. My thoughts on the timeline is that there is no time line…lost time…the loop I commented on seems to be some sort of time ripple with the center of it being Jack..his decisions decide the fate of the rest of the castaways. So it could be possible that the events of the “flash” took place before the crash…”I’m tired of lying”….you would sound like a complete lunatic talking about events that haven’t happened or may not ever happen. This could explain him talking about his dad in present tense. Mrs. T this is the only nickname I’ve commented under…I hope my theories aren’t to out there for you..thanks again. More later.

One thing I forgot to touch on was the name of the funeral home being an acronym to flash forward. I think this was a great clue or meant to throw us off completely..not sure. The writers know we are looking for these things so it could go either way. Penny’s father must have been plugged into the Looking Glass station for years and that haas to be why it said incoming signal..but she had no clue what was going on. The flash makes me think of “Castaway”…how the character got back and was still all alone..like he was still on an island..all alone. Thanks again…later.

Interesting episode. I liked the line about locking Karl in a cage and trying to brain wash him as a means of birth control. What a thoughtful dad.

Charlie isn’t dead. He is goning to get sucked out the porthole and drifted up to the beach for a bit of CPR by Desmond or Hurley. Don’t know if anyone else noticed but he was crossing himself as he drifted toward the window? Of course he was using the WRONG hand to do so, which is odd for a former altar boy.

I believe the freighter is manned by EvilAffiliates of Penny’s EvilFather. Penny has somehow ferreted out contact data and frequencies from within his EvilCorporation, and is using them to try to locate Desmond.

Now as to FutureJack. What I see there is HUGE GUILT!!!!!!! Could he and Kate have saved themselves at the expense of leaving some of their fellow Losties behind?

I agree with whomever said Ben can’t be Alex’s dad. Since Rousseau is alive, Alex had to have been conceived off island and according to Ben he hasn’t left. (yeah, yeah, I know he’s a liar.)

Our funeral fellow has to a fellow Lostie. It looked like ‘Jo’ (John, Jonathan, Jock, Joseph, Joshua,Josiah, Josephus?)but it might have been ‘Ja’ as in James and _anham might be a new alias for Sawyer, but from New York? So who do we have on the island who is male, from NY and suicidal? And where the heck is Juliet? Did Kate boot her off the rescue copter and steal her identity? How can I get me one of them “Golden Passes”?

Almost forgot, I had this strange notion that the woman in the car wreck that Jack saved is somehow connected to the Sawyer and the boy his son.

I disagree with those of you who think Sawyer is evil for killing Tom. Tom did deserve to die. You will note that each time Sawyer has killed it was someone who separated a child from his parent(s). Besides Tom will likely revive a la John Locke. Point is I was more disturbed by teen Walt than by dead Tom. I also thought it really odd that lying atop the Dharma grave, Locke’s recuperative powers were cancelled. Not sure what it means if anything.

The producers stated that they always envisioned a beginning, middle, and end of the story. Before the pilot was filmed, they had this in place. There were gaps along the way but those 3 milestones were planned. Last night we saw the “middle” milestone. I believe Darlton are in complete control and ALWAYS knew this would happen. I’m sure when the story was pitched, they said it would be pretty lame if they just did 1 month per season with a obvious rescue at the end. Boring. That’s what we expected from Lost when it debuted. Don’t deny it! With only (what I think are) a few rescued at the end of season 3 followed by 28 months of Jack anguish trying to get back, we are now in a lost timeline conundrum. I believe that this 28 month gap will be the explored but not revealed in season 4. Based on the LA times headline, last night may have taken place on April 5, 2007. With 48 episodes left, roughly 1 episode per day of LOST action, that would put the end at …. hmmm… interesting, May 23, 2007.

I also think it’s worthwhile to note the two suicude considerations… Not only did Jack almost jump off the bridge, but John almost shot himself in the head. Coincidence?

I’m also unsure about Sawyer – I don’t think he’s evil now that he’s killed Tom, I just think that something changed in him when he killed Cooper – and that he holds a grudge! Also, this is the first “other” that’s been killed that has everyone in a uproar – every other “other” death has been ‘ok’, so is what Sawyer did really that bad compared to what others (including Sayid, Jin and Bernard) have done in killing “others”?

Don’t know how many of you have seen this, but if you click on the link posted by dg for Oceanic airlines, behind their announcement, you can see a few letters coming out on the right hand side…if you double click on them and paste them somewere,it says this -

“If anyone should find this message, please get word I’m alive and stranded on an island somewhere in the South Pacific. Please send help soon. Things are bad. And they’re getting worse…”

This was also hidden on the Oceanic website, hidden in the text about the airline closing:

I survived a horrific plane crash and am stranded on an island somewhere Northeast of Australia and Southwest of Hawaii. In the event that I am never found, please forward word of my fate to my parents

Lostie23- I tried that and got something different: I survived a horrific plane crash and am stranded on an island somewhere Northeast of Australia and Southwest of Hawaii. In the event that I am never found, please forward word of my fate to my parents.

I just got another picture of Claire’s ticket. Maybe this is all old news to most people, but I’ve never seen this before! And the distress message is signed “Sally.” Do a Select All on the page and copy/paste it to see what you get!

You know what!!! I just did a select all and copied/pasted and I got two drawings…one of the statue of Liberty, turned upside down with a few buildings in the background, and another of a man in a hospital bed, with a birthday cake with 7 candles on it…he seems to have a broken leg, arm and bandages on his face…this is weird…I had no idea this was on there…I also got the message from Sally and the other one about being stranded on an island somewhere NE of Australia and Southwest of Hawaii… This is all signed off with a name I can’t really make out Lroz? and a 2003…

Therese, love your chats and blogs. Logically at this point the only person who would kill himself for not being on the island is Locke. A prisoner of his own body. Jack now realizes he was the reason for Locke’s fate. The reason for the return would be purely speculative perhaps to change the flow of time. Or to return to a particular point in time. Damon said on the recap show that they were definitely living breathing people and that every happening could be scientifically explaned. But, I miss the most important part. He said, “yes and they exist somewhere in the space time continum”.

Another after thought, I came across a copy of the Philidelphia experiment which had space time components, and ,was I believe magnetically based. Will, Love love love your writing.

#1. Future Jack is experiencing the Desmond Flash Effect. Jack being a hero on the bridge? He experienced it before; no matter how many times he tries to fix things how he wants it, they keep going sour.

#2. The Magnetic anomaly caused a split for the reality and the planes; one continued and crashed on the island, while the other plane crashed and sunk to the bottom, killing all on board. So, perhaps when Jack (and Kate, plus whoever) got back to the States, people were surprised, and he got himself a fancy plane pass.

#3. Timeline. Perhaps Christian is actually alive in the timeline that Future Jack is in now. (hey, it’s possible, but there are some other factors involved.)

I shall wait for the blog entry to recollect my thoughts on all of this!

I did some research on Minkowski (the name of the guy on the “other” Others’ freighter who answered the phone) and found Hermann Minkowski, known for the theory of “Minkowski spacetime”, in which the time and space are not separated entities but intermingled in a four dimensional space-time. I figure that connection can’t be a coincidence! It amazes me that the writers can come up with all of these layers!

Lostie23 – also, if you go a bit farther down the announcement from Oceanic, it says “I survived a horrific plane crash and am stranded on an island somewhere Northeast of Australia and Southwest of Hawaii. In the event that I am never found, please forward word of my fate to my parents”. Hmmmm….

This was Ben’s comment to The Chronicle when he was interviewed a few weeks ago: “The day will come when we find out who he’s really fighting. And it will make your hair stand on end. You’ll wish Ben had been badder.”

Here is my theory about Ben. I think Annie died in childbirth. So Ben was a factor in two deaths through childbirth – his mom’s and Annie’s. If this happened before the pregnancy problem started up, then Ben’s guilt (and psychic connection with the island) about both deaths might be the cause of all of the problems now. It would be really interesting to know WHEN women started dying during pregnancies. Were the Dharma folks able to reproduce safely? I would also like to know about Karl’s history, since he is evidently going to be part of the story now (I really thought he would bite the bullet in the finale). Who are his parents? Could he be Ben’s son with Annie, but Ben holds so much resentment against him that he could not bring himself to raise him? Maybe Karl and Alex are going to be Adam and Eve – if they were both born on the island (even if not conceived), maybe they can break the curse. It’s a long stretch, I know, but I do want to know more about Karl’s background now.

Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen that oceanic website. This might be old news to some, but go here: http://oceanic-air.com/seatingchart.htm then click on Pre-board check-in. The letters and boxes that come up are out of order. Drag the letters into the box to spell “other man” and brace yourself…

I just did the Ctrl A copy thing on Oceanic and got a picture of a NY tug boat in NYC harbor and a envelope addressed to Walt Lloyd, 317 Charette S*, Sydney NSW 200*, Australia. Presumably Michael’s art sent to Walt. Seems like everyone gets something a bit different. Should we send them all to Therese and see if she can fit the puzzle pieces together?

I was thinking that many of our Losties may have suffered dire injuries in the crash that the island’s recuperative properties masked. Once rescued these crippling injuries may have made themselves known. That might explain Jack’s dependence on the oxycodon.

I also remembered Desmond crossing himself before turning the key and ‘saving the world’. Maybe Charlie is the mirror image of Desmond’s action, hence the appearance of using the wrong hand.

–Charlie had to die, because it was a part of Desmond’s vision. That’s why he didn’t try to save himself. Desmond told him before that if the events didn’t happen as he saw them that the outcome (here being Claire & Aaron’s rescue) would change. He died for them.

–I wonder if Walt’s aging will be written into the show somehow, or if they’ll ignore it completely. Maybe the outside world is on a different timeline; maybe time on the island is sort of at a stand still?? This could explain Alpert’s non-aging self …

–I think the pharmacist said Jack was a hero twice over because he rescued 2 people in that car accident. I don’t think he was acknowledging 2 separate heroic events.

–Maybe the reason Kate’s not in jail is the same as the reason behind their having golden passes: COVER UP!! Conspiracy! Maybe they were bargained with for their silence. Jack said he didn’t want to lie anymore … maybe he can’t take it anymore; he doesn’t want to pretend anymore …

Most people seem to think Christian Shepherd is dead, and I agree. This leads me to believe Jack’s reference to him (Get My Father Down Here) is a totally gratuitous red herring. Put it in the mouth of a junkie and you can always say later that Jack was so messed up he didn’t know what he was saying. How annoying! These writers have us frazzled and dazzled and practically worshipping at the altar of this magical mystery tour and what do they do? Throw sand in our eyes?

If Christian Shepherd is dead in April 2007, I’d like to see them apologize to us by referencing it in the season opener. On the other hand, if he’s somehow alive in April 2007, just call me Emily Litella.

I’d also like to say to the writers: I love you! I hate you! I love you! What a show!